Isabella gazed at the Manhattan skyline from her office, the afternoon sun glinting off glass and steel. The board meeting had ended three hours ago, yet the satisfaction of Edwin's removal still coursed through her veins. She closed her eyes briefly, savoring it—relief, rare and precious in her world of constant vigilance.
Her phone buzzed. A message from Liam: *"Security has confirmed Edwin's clearances are revoked. His company devices have been wiped."*
Isabella typed back: *"Come up. Bring the Macallan 25."*
Twenty minutes later, Liam entered her office carrying a crystal decanter and two glasses. He set them on the low table near the window where Isabella had relocated, her stilettos discarded beneath a chair, her posture more relaxed than he'd seen in weeks.
"Quite the performance today," he remarked, pouring two fingers of amber liquid into each glass.
Isabella accepted hers with a small smile. "Hardly a performance. Just the culmination of careful planning."
